Returning Spirit
by lexieconextreme
Summary: Chihiro tries to convince her friend she's telling the truth about the Spirit World.


**A/N: Hello all! This is the sequel to Remembering Spirits, and I sincerely hope you liked the first one. I'll definitely be writing another part to this, so let me know if you have any ideas on how the story should continue!**

 **Enjoy the story!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Spirited Away, or any of the characters within. That honor still belongs to Hayao Miyazaki.**

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Chihiro and Ling were riding their bikes as fast as the could down the long grassy slope in front of her house. They had a bet going: If Ling won, Chihiro had to tell him what she was so upset about. If Chihiro won, she didn't have to tell him anything.

So Chihiro was pushing the pedals on her bike as hard and fast as she could, and Ling was right beside her doing the exact same thing. They only problem was, Ling was winning. Chihiro bit down on her lip, pushing herself. She'd thought about just letting Ling win, get to have this whole it's-not-a-story thing off her chest. But she couldn't do that, not when there was a chance of Ling running away from her in terror and going to tell Ran Fan she was mad. And just like that, the only two friends she had in this new town would be gone.

Ling was going farther, farther, farther. He was winning. Ling hit the finish line first, and Chihiro felt a little bit of happiness inside of her. She could tell him the truth, no matter what happened. Chihiro felt a little guilty for doubting Ling, but she'd get to see what he thought of all of it in just a moment.

Ling hopped off his bike, coming to greet her with a large, sunny smile on his face. "Now you have to tell me the truth!" He exclaimed. Chihiro smiled slightly at that, glancing down the long overgrown road that led to the Bathhouse of the Spirits masquerading as an abandoned theme park.

Chihiro glanced back at her best friend to see him staring at her curiously. "That looks like it could be the road from your story," he said calmly, and Chihiro began to have a little hope that Ling might believe her.

She motioned for him to get back on his bike. "Follow me," she said, and began to pedal vigorously toward where her dreams always led her.

An hour later, and Chihiro and Ling stood in front of the front gate of the abandoned theme park. Ling hopped off his bike, walking forward to touch the wall. He looked back at her in confusion. "Is this what you wanted to show me?"

Chihiro nodded. "At least, part of it." Ling looked confused. "What else could there be?"

Chihiro almost started laughing. "A whole new world," she said in a sing-song voice, leaving her bike leaning against the wall and running eagerly down the long hallway, no longer caring if she wouldn't be able to get home again. Ling chased her, now officially worried.

"Chihiro! Where are we going, and what on Earth are we doing?" Ling shouted, struggling to catch up to the exuberant girl. Ling had always been faster than both Ran Fan and Chihiro, but this was just weird.

Chihiro sprinted all the way through the atrium of the train station, stopping only when she came out. A laugh tore it's way from her throat, and she danced around wildly. Chihiro decided to sit down and wait for Ling.

Ling came running outside a moment later to a completely chill Chihiro, and a large, free grassland. A stood there, stunned. "Who'd have thought there was such a big place behind those rickety walls," he murmured, staring around at the beautiful scenery. Ling's gaze moved to Chihiro, who patted the grass beside her. Numbly, Ling sat.

"Where are we?" He asked, a wild idea forming in the depths of his mind.

Chihiro tilted her head. "The Spirit World." Ling gulped, his suspicion confirmed. Chihiro watched her friend closely, looking for any signs of the running and screaming.

"Right..." Ling muttered, looking around him. Everything here matched Chihiro's description in her story. The only question left was whether Chihiro had invented it based on this place, or if the story was part of her past.

Ling looked back to Chihiro. "So...when your family was missing for a month..." He left it open, hoping she would fill it in.

Chihiro nodded. "We were here. Mom and Dad were pigs, of course. I was working for Yubaba, trying really hard not to give her a reason to turn me into a lump of coal."

"So the entire story was real?" Ling needed to be sure of what he was hearing.

"Yep." Ling nodded, thinking. Finally, he jumped up and Chihiro followed suit. "Great! I finally get to meet the Radish Spirit!"

Chihiro laughed. "Why only the Radish Spirit?"

Ling turned back to face her, shaking his head in mock disappointment. "Because he sounds like a truly amazing spirit." Ling paused, in both movement and speech, and Chihiro stopped to wait for him. "Well...I suppose I could meet those other friends. As long as I get to meet the dude whose voice I can imagine belongs to a small, porcelain pig."

Chihiro heaved a great sigh, shaking her head at her friend's ridiculousness. Ling started to move again, and shouted impatiently "ARE WE GOING TO GET MOVING OR NOT?!"

Chihiro grinned and led the way to the Bathhouse of the Spirits.

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 **A/N: Short sequel is short.**

 **Hope you liked the story! BYE ;3**


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